Torquay’s iconic hostel faces demolition under multimillion-dollar proposal

The operators of Bells Beach Backpackers say they have been ‘blindsided’ by the landowner’s plans to demolish the existing accomodation to make way for a proposed $3m medical centre.

The operators of Bells Beach Backpackers say they have been blindsided by the landowner’s plans to demolish existing accomodation to make way for a proposed $3m medical centre.

The new owners of the Geelong Rd site have lodged plans with the Surf Coast Shire council to develop a new radiology and medical centre.

But Bells Beach Backpackers operator Sean Kershaw, who leased the building for close to a decade, said he was not aware of the plans until a public notice appeared on the premise.

Mr Kershaw said he still has two years left on his lease, with the hostel fully booked over the new year period.

“We have nowhere to go, we don’t have a plan, the cost of land in Torquay makes it near impossible to continue to have a backpackers,” he said.

Documents submitted to the Surf Coast Shire by Tract Consultants detail plans to demolish the existing backpackers building located at 51-53 Geelong Rd in order to construct a two-storey radiology and medical centre operating with up to eight practitioners on-site at any given time.

The Bells Beach Backpackers site on Geelong Road, Torquay, sold for $2.15 million.

“I do see it as being a good use of land, I don’t think it is a bad thing by the new landlords to do, it just means we don’t have anywhere else to go as this point,” Mr Kershaw said

“When you purchase a business, you do think it will continue on or that you would have the opportunity to sell it when you want to step away, but I am going to walk away with nothing.”

If approved, the radiology and medical centre will be the home of Lake Imaging in Torquay with operational hours between 8:30am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on weekends.

The medical suites to be located on the upper level will be occupied by allied medical practitioners who work for or in conjunction with Lake Imaging.

The proposal comes after new landlords purchased the premise in September for more than $2m.

Mr Kershaw first snapped up the business in 2012, with the premise already set up as a hostel previously called Home@Bells.

The property has long been used as a place of affordable accommodation further dating back 26 years under the name Bells Beach Lodge.

An additional 56-bedroom backpackers facility has been approved in Torquay down the road from Bells Beach Backpackers, as part of a $29m development featuring a cinema, KFC, children’s play centre and another medical centre.

The three-storey hostel set to be located at 85 Geelong Road, is within metres from the Torquay Lions Village, where residents furiously opposed the plan.

The current application lodged by Tract Consultants will not be decided on by the Surf Coast Shire before December 21.

Originally published as Torquay’s iconic hostel faces demolition under multimillion-dollar proposal